A HOSPITAL has won national recognition for the fresh and healthy meals it provides just weeks after a storm over moves to encourage staff and patients to eat better.

The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital has received an award that recognises restaurants and caterers serving fresh food free from controversial additives and better for animal welfare.

The Bronze Food for Life Served Here award was presented to the trust’s catering team by the Soil Association, a food and farming charity and organic certification body.

It followed a rigorous on-site inspection at the hospital.

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In May plans to reduce the portion sizes of hospital meals annoyed some staff.

Chips, mashed potatoes, and rice were rationed at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals as part of moves to encourage staff and patients to eat more healthily.

But some medics and support staff were said to be considering boycotting the canteens at the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust sites in protest at the new strategy.

The team at Royal Blackburn achieved the accolade for serving fresh meals that meet nutritional guidelines for both staff and patients.

Zac Rayson, nutritional adviser at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust., said: “Getting the Served Here award demonstrates our department’s progressive approach to catering.

“It has never been clearer for our service users that our foods are freshly prepared, using local and sustainably sourced produce and that we strive to support the health and wellbeing of our staff, visitors and patients.”

Now the trust is thinking about how it can continue to improve standards.

Trust catering manager Tim Radcliff said: “For us, the bronze status is just a starting point and our next goal will be to achieve the award at our other hospitals.

“If our team continue to work as hard as they have been, I’m sure we can push ourselves to reaching silver and ultimately gold status.”